Authors are Rockstars Tour: Kimberly Sabatini!

I'm so glad to be able to participate in the Authors are Rockstars tour this year and am even MORE excited that I get to host the ever lovely and kind:

 

Kimberly Sabatini!

 

So, why is Kimberly Sabatini a rockstar?

 

Kimberly Sabatini is a rockstar because she is unbelievably nice. She was one of the first authors I interacted with when I first started blogging, and I am always grateful we met via the interwebz. Also, her writing is beautiful and her characters are REAL. They have flaws and worries and even though they can get on our nerves sometimes, they are still believable and we can't help but love them in the end. Plus, I totally swoon over her book boys. ;)

 

Speaking of Kimberly's swoon-worthy boys, she let them drop by to chat with me!

 

Character Interview With Ollie & Trevor!

Holy snap, I get to hang with both of you today! Welcome back, Trevor!

And, of course, Ollie (I’m not even going to pretend to call you Oliver—never did and never will), welcome! I CAN’T EVEN SAY HOW EXCITED I AM TO HAVE YOU DROP BY. Hence the CAPS. Hehe.

* Both boys wave back and Oliver gives the thumbs up to being called Ollie *

Trevor, before we even move on with anything, you know the drill, eh? Keep me updated on that T-shirt. I love that thing. Sort of like how I love Ollie. Except it’s a T-shirt and Ollie’s an attractive…never mind. You get my point.

* Trevor flexes and Ollie gives the victory sign until Trevor sideswipes him. Then Ollie puts Trevor in a headlock and the whole thing digresses into what looks like two puppies tussling. *

SO. Boys. How are you today? Are your summers going well?

Trevor: “The summer has been great. My best girl and I’ve been hiking and no matter what route we take, we always seem to find an ice cream somewhere along the way. And then there was that time that Ollie showed up in the ice cream truck with a whole stream of kids chasing after him like the Pied Piper.”

Oliver: “Ahhh that was fun. I guess you should have never implied that your best girl likes spending time with you more than she likes hanging out with me. In fact, you should have seen your blank T-shirt with your mouth hanging open when I popped my head out of the window (as she was dashing towards the ice cream truck.) As I told you earlier, you’re over confident in your making-out skills and I proved it.” * GRIN *

Trevor: * death ray stare *

What’s your favorite summer activity? Personally, mine is sleeping. And reading. But mostly sleeping.

Trevor: “It should be obvious that plotting my revenge on Ollie is taking up a huge amount of my time.”

Oliver: “Shaking in my boots, man.” * snort * “I on the other hand have been tinkering around with some gadgets. Freddie got me hooked on the handy man lifestyle, but there’s always time for a Star Wars marathon. (Just the good ones, though.)”

TREVOR. You have a giiiiiirl. A girl that you, like, said would kill me or something last time we talked. How is she doing? Have anything fun planned for the summer?

Trevor: “She’s great! And she loved your interview. Seriously. (I may have edited out a few lines, but that’s it.) Besides, now that we’ve been together a little while longer, she’s eased up on the insecurity. You know how it is when you’re afraid your going to lose someone you love. But that is never going to happen, and she’s starting to really believe that. Our summer plans? Well, besides the hiking, we’ve tried a couple…” * slurs words *

Oliver: “What was that, Trev? You got talked into taking BALLROOM DANCE CLASSES? But you have two left feet? Hey, Ouch!”

OLLIE. My dearest Ollie. Have I told you that I heart your face? Because I do.

Oliver: “I totally heart your face, too. But it’s so tiny on twitter. We need to at least hang out on Instagram where the pics are bigger. <3”

Also, I called dibs on you MONTHS ago, Ollie. Therefore, you are mine.

Oliver: * blushes *

Trevor, going back to that kickass T-shirt you wear…WHY do you wear it, exactly?

Oliver jumps in: “He’s not gonna tell you the truth, so I will. He’s just like a chocolate candy--all hard and crunchy on the outside and all soft and gooey on the inside. His gooey parts are all shy and that’s why he uses the T-shirt slogans to expresses himself. * Looks at Trevor* Or it could be because he’s super cool and really creative and chicks dig it.”

Ollie, why don’t you wear a cool shirt like that? I mean, I love you anyway, but I was just wondering.

Trevor jumps in: “Because the boy already doesn’t have a filter and says the first thing that comes to mind instantly. A T-shirt slogan would be old news. And God forbid you say the wrong thing and accidentally hurt someone’s feeling. Wait is that a cat stuck in a tree over there?”          

Oliver: “Where?”

Trevor: “I think I’ve made my point.” * Grin *

Do you guys prefer to hang at the beach or by the pool? Why?

In unison: The Lake!

Oliver: “You can learn a lot from a lake.”

Trevor: “And you can find some missing things there too.”

* Guy High Five *

Okay, so imagine I gave you each a pet tiger. (You’re welcome.) What would you name him and why? (They are both cutely vicious male tigers. MALE. They are not girls. Because I say they’re not.)

In unison: “Tigers!”

Oliver: “Trevor will name his Fluffy. He’s named every single stuffed animal and pet we ever had Fluffy!”

Trevor: “Ha ha. I was three, okay. And any chance you’re tiger will be named Yoda? Huh?”

Oliver: “He can’t help it if he’s a wise tiger that is one with the force.”

Trevor: “You should see my T-shirt right now. Sorry, I can’t show the ladies.”

Have you ever gotten a random bruise that you have no clue in the world where you got it from? Because, holy snap, I have this one on my leg…

Trevor: We’re guys. We never know that kind of stuff.

Oliver: But we hope you feel better.

Ollie, you’re SUPER close friends with Elliot.

Oliver: “Absolutely. I already proved that with the ice cream truck.”

Trevor: “All you proved is that she likes chocolate ICE CREAM.”

Oliver: “Think what you want, Bro.”

I was making no point with that statement other than pointing out that y’all are just friends. Remember, I have my dibs… ;)

Oliver: *waggles eyebrows *

Both of you are close with Elliot, but in different ways. What would you each say is your favorite thing about her?

Oliver: “Elliot is fun to hang out with. And she completes all my sentences and stuff. She kind of makes me feel like I’ve swallowed the sun.”

Trevor: “She likes the guy under the T-shirt.” * awkwardly clears throat *

 

In Touching the Surface things were pretty strained between you two. Actually, things were pretty strained between EVERYBODY at different points throughout the story…but let’s focus on you two. You’re brothers. How are you getting along now?

Oliver: “We’re like peanut butter and jelly. We stick together. All that other stuff was just kind of part of the process.”

Trevor: “What he said.” * nudges chin in Ollie’s direction * “There’s no one I’d ever trust more.”

Oliver: “Unless I drive up in an ice cream truck. Trust becomes an issue then.” * ducks * “I’m just kidding. I’ve already told Elliot I’ll be the best man at your wedding. What? Your T-shirt is blank again?”

How have your experiences in Touching the Surface affected your relationship with each other?

Trevor: “Let’s just say that fooling yourself, hiding from the real stuff doesn’t fix anything.”

Oliver: “Agreed. Fixing and growing is hard work, but what you end up with in the end is worth it.”

Okay, what are your favorite things about each other?

Oliver: “His girlfriend. Just kidding. Seriously, he’s my big brother—he’s got my back—always. And his T-shirts. Definitely not his smelly feet.”

Trevor: “Oliver reminds me to lighten up. Sometimes I fall back into old patterns and he makes sure I don’t take myself too seriously. And my feet? Dude, your dawgs are always barking.”

And now, because I’m me and I do what I want—what is your favorite thing about me?

Trevor: “We totally agree on this--girls who read are hot. Smart girls are the new black.”

Oliver: “And Touching the Surface doesn’t have the kind of notoriety that the Hunger Games or anything written by John Green does, but you’ve completely got our backs. You’re a good friend and we love you for that. And you give great interview.”

Do you guys like SpongeBob? Because I do. He makes me chuckle.

Oliver: “Um, I speak for both of us when I say that we don’t know what to say to that.”

Ollie makes me giggle.

Okay, boys. Let’s talk breakfast cereals. Favorite and least favorite. GO!

In unison: “Pancakes!”

What would you guys say was the hardest part of everything that went on in Touching the Surface? Why?

Trevor: “All the time you spend hating everyone and hating yourself. Hate takes up all the air in the room until you can’t breath.”

Oliver: “I said it earlier, but growing is hard work. It is much easier to pretend there isn’t more out there. It’s easier to let yourself believe you’re satisfied staying with what if comfortable and familiar even if it isn’t very good. Touching the Surface forces you to realize that sometimes you have to dig deep.”

All right, let us all take a minute or two to chill out. What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Trevor: “Mint Chocolate Chip.”

Oliver: “Chocolate! With lots of maraschino cherries.”

Both of you, can you please rate this interview so far (because it’s totally not over yet!) on a scale from 1-10? And give me a short reason why? I care about your opinions.

In unison: “Ten.”

Oliver: “It’s not like an interview—it’s hanging out. We love hanging out.”

Trevor, the last time I talked to you, we were gearing up for Valentine’s Day. How did that go for you?

Trevor: “That was a ten, too.” * grin and zips lip *

Ollie, I didn’t get the chance to talk to you for V-Day (Which I am still sad about), but how did your day go? Anyone special for you…?

Oliver: * sniff * “Still waiting for that perfect partner to come along.

What’s your favorite holidays? Trevor, do you have a special T-shirt slogan for that favorite day?

Oliver: “Halloween. I love everything about it—dressing up, falling leaves, that crisp time of year, all the scary stuff and the candy. Can’t forget the candy.”

Trevor: “I always like the one coming up. But I have a soft spot for New Years and new beginnings. I’ve needed my fair share of that in the past. This year my T-shirt said…

This year I resolve not to make any resolutions. Damn…”

AT THIS EXACT MOMENT, what is your favorite song? If you both say the same thing, I will be completely weirded out, so keep that in mind…

Oliver: “With a Little Help From My Friends by Joe Cocker.”

Trevor: “Saturday in the Park” by Chicago. We’re kinda renaissance men.”

Oliver: “You know one of the lines in your song is…a man selling ice cream, singing Italian songs...right?”

Trevor: “I might have caught that.”

Oliver: “And I was singing when I drove the ice cream truck.”

Trevor: * shakes head *

Do you guys like to read at all? What would you say is your favorite book?

Trevor: “We both love to read. Hmmm a favorite book? There are so many. But my all time favorite is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. When I was little, I read my copy until the cover came off.”

Oliver: “Go. Dog. Go! By PD Eastman. It doesn’t get better than that. Seriously.”

So, I know you were IN the book, but…have y’all read Touching the Surface? How fantastic of a job do you think it does telling your story?

Oliver: “It’s hard to say this, but we haven’t read it. We lived it and it would be weird. What if reading it ruined the magic, because even though it was a tough time, it was magic and well, we just can’t risk it—losing it. You know?”

You’re trapped on an island. You can only bring three things with you (not PEOPLE—unless you want to bring me. Then we can bend the rules a wee bit;)), what would you each bring?

Trevor: “Elliot’s gonna get mad if you can go and she can’t, so we’ll stick to stuff. I’d bring books, music and pancakes.”

Oliver: “My Star Wars movies, pancakes and a puppy. You said people.”

What is your favorite food of all time to snack on? I may or may not be awarding high fives for these answers…

In unison: “Pancakes!”

I think…I think we’ve reached the end of this, you guys. NOOOOOOOOOO. Sadness. Do you guys have anything to say before we say our goodbyes? You can be as random as you want.

Oliver: “Trevor sucked his thumb until he was four and a half.”

Trevor: “Oliver wet his pants in 2^nd Grade.”

Oliver: “Dude, do we really want to go here?”

Trevor: “Probably not.”

Trevor’s T-shirt: When Oliver was two years old, he got bubble gum stuck on his…

Oliver: “Hey!”

You both are so awesome for talking with me! Trevor, it was so great to see you again and I hope you drop on by again soon!

In unison: “Any time!!!!”

Ollie…I kind of wish I could keep you. AHHHH, IT WAS SO GREAT TO MEET YOU AND TALK TO YOU AND AHHHH. I heart you a lot.

Oliver: “I heart you, too and the gum thing…not true-ish at all!”

Thank you guys so much! I need you back here again. Sometime soon. FOR REAL. <3

Trevor: “We can’t wait.”

Oliver: “Ditto.” 

About Kimberly's Book

 

Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini 

Release Date: October 30, 2012

Publisher: Simon Pulse

 

Description from Goodreads:

Experience the afterlife in this lyrical, paranormal debut novel that will send your heart soaring.When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.

     Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.

     As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.

 

Giveaway!

 

Kimberly is donating a signed copy of Touching the Surface for one of you lucky ducks to win! My giveaway policy applies, and this is US ONLY.

 

Enter through the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

♥Jessica(: